Mills



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) v

M. E. HASTINGS.

I VSER1??? METAL FOLDER.

No. 412,254. Patented Oct. 8, 1889,

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

M. E. HASTNGS.

SHEET METAL FOLDER. No. 412.254. Patented Oct. 8. 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

MATTI-I'EV E. HASTINGS, OF NEV YORK MILLS, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO W. STUART VALOOTT, OF SAME PLACE.

SHEET-METAL FOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-Patent No. 412,254, dated October8, 1889.

Application filed May 2, 1889. Serial No. 309,333. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW E. Hns'rmes, of New York Mills, in thecounty of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Sheet- Metal Folders 5 and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to a machine for folding sheet metal.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification,and in which similar letters and figures of reference refer to likeparts in the several figures of the drawings, Figure 1 shows aplan viewof the working parts of the machine and a section substantially on aline with A B of Fig. 2, the brakes being partially turned down. Fig. 2is a side view of the machine, certain part-s being omitted to betterillustrate features. Fig. 3 shows a portion of the machine, showingportions of the table, presser-plate, and brake. Fig. 4 shows a side andedge view of the brake removed from the machine. Fig. 5 shows a planview of the presser-plate, and is especially designed to show a movementthereof relative to the table and a sheet of metal thereon. Fig. 6 showsa portion of the machine, showing the mechanism for operating thepresser-plate. Fig. G is supplemental to Fig. 6, and is intended to showthe move ment of the post carrying the presser-plate. Figs. 7 and S aresections on line C D of Fig. 2, showing movements of presser-plate post.Fig. 9 shows a portion of the table, presserplate open or removed fromthe table, the brake, and a sheet of metal introduced preparatorytobeing operated upon by the machine, the saine being takensubstantially on line E F of Fig. l. Fig. 10 shows the same parts aftertheir movements and the folded edge of metal. Fig. 11 shows a sheet ofmetal after it has been operated upon by my inachine.

In constructing my machine I provide a suitable frame 1, upon which ismounted a table 2. The table 2 is provided with a projecting edge 3. Apresser-plate 4 is adapted to descend upon the table 2, and is providedwith a projecting edge 5. The presser-plate 4 is operated by a lever 8,which is pivoted at 9 in guides 7, and is provided with a camgroove10,in which groove the pin 1 1in the post 6 engages the lever 8. Thepost 6 is also provided With pins 12 12, affixed therein, which engagein angle-slots 13 18 in guides 7 The post G has also affixed thereto aprojection 15, having its upper end rounded and adapted to work againsta roller 14, affixed to guides 7. Projecting from the edges of thepresserplate 4 are parte 16L of the halved bearings 16, and from theedges of the table 2 project the complementary part 1Gb of the bearings16. Mounted in bearings 16 are what I term brakes (Shown at 17, 17h, 17,and 17l in Fig. l. See Figs. 3,4, 9, and 10.) Brakes 17 and 17 areprovided with handles 1S 18 for operating them. The several brakes arealso provided with segments ot' a pulley, as 19, 19, 19C, and 19d. Acordor band, as 20, is secured to 19n and passes to 19", to which it issecured, and thence over a suitable roller to the weight 21. A cordsimilar to 20 is secured to 19, and passes over and is secured to 19d,thence to weight 21. (The cords are omitted from Fig. l and one of themfrom Fig. 2.)

Upon the brakes 19b and 19d are adjustably movable stops 22, which aremounted upon or are a part of the springs 23, which springs are securedto the brake at or near the segment of the pulley. A stop 22 projectsout of a slotted opening in the brake, and is adjustable therein bymeans of set-screws 24 in the slot.

The sheet of metal upon which the device operates is indicated by X.

The device is operated as follows: The presser-plate being raised fromthe table, as shown in Fig. 2, a sheet of metal is inserted from thefront of the machine, which is in- 95 dicated by Y in Fig. 5 upon thetable 2. It will be observed that while the presser-plate and table areseparated two of the brakesthat is, 17 and 17h-are in the upper half 16aof the bearing 16, and are held therein beroo tween edge 5 ofpresser-plate 4 and the half of bearing 16 by cord 20, and two ofthem-c'.

e., 1'7b and 17d-are in the lower half of 16b of bearing 16. After thesheet of metal has been inserted between the table and presser-plate,handle 8 is brought down into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.6, which movement forces presser-plate 4: down onto the metal sheet uponthe table and secures it there. When this is done, handles 18 and 18aare turned down a little more than a quarter of a circle from theposition shown in Fig. 2. They may be turned down together orseparately. As the action of the brakes is the same in all except as towhether they turn up or down, the act-ion thereof will be under--` stoodby reference to Figs. 9 and 10, in which X indicates the metal upon thetable, and in Fig. 9 the presser-plate is shown raised and the brake inits normal position before movement. In Fig. 10 the presser-plate isshown after it has descended' upon the metal sheet and the brake in theposition it assumes upon the completion of its movement and before itVhas returned to its normal position. .The two parts 16"L and 16b of thebearing 16 are shown together in Fig. 10, making a complete bearing whenit is required. The manner in which the edge of the sheet is folded willalso be understood from the iigures. After the completion of thelast-described movement the brakes are returned to their normalposition,

as shown in Fig. 6a. When the brakes are in the normal position of thebrakes on opposite sides, one is in the upper half 16a of the bearingsand moves with the presser-plate and one is in the lower half 16b of thebearing 16. After the brakes have been returned to the normal positionthe presser-plate .is raised by throwing up lever 8, and. it will benoticed that when the presser-plate is relieved from the sheet upon thetable, and immediately upon its beginning its upward movement, it ismoved from the position shown in a in dotted lines in Fig. 5 to theposition shown in full lines. This movement is caused or facilitated bythe roller 14 (see Figs. 6 and 6) engaging on the upper inclined orrounded surface of the projection 15 on the presser-plate post, ispermitted and facilitated by the angle in the slots 13, and removes theedge of the presserplate from under the folded edge of the sheet andallows it to be raised from the table without carrying the sheettherewith.

When the presser-plate is fully raised, the sheet, having its edgesfolded, as shown, may be removed and a new sheet inserted, when themachine is ready for a repetition of the processes described.

In placing the sheets upon the table stops 22, provided upon the brakesthat remain in the part of the bearingl secured to the table while thepresser-plate is raised,.facilitate the proper location thereof, andthese stops are adjustable by means of screws 24 to accommodatevariations in sizes of sheets.

It is evident that springs might be provided for returning the brakes totheir normal positions, that the cords connecting the brakes may beomitted, and means for operating each brake independently of the othersor all together provided. The vertical and horizontal movement of thepresser-plate with reference to the table may be distributed between thetable and presserplate-as, for instance, the table mayhave one of themovements and the presser-plate the other, or both may be made in thetable-and that other means might be employed for producing thehorizontal diagonal movement of the presserplate with reference to thetable, all of which I should consider the equivalent of my construction,and other alterations and modications in and from the constructiondescribed may be made without departing from the spirit of my inventionor the equivalents of my construction.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a sheet-metal-folding machine, the` combination of a quadrilateraltable, a presserplate, substantially of the size and form of the.

table, adapted to descend thereon, brakes upon the two adjacent sides ofthe table, adapted to work by or around its edge, and brakes uponthe-two adjacent sides of the presser-plate, being the opposite sides tothose having the brakes on the table, the brakes upon the presser-platebeing adapted to Work by or around its edge, substantially as set.brakes in said bearings.

4. In a sheet-metal folder, the combination of the table, thepresser-plate adapted to descend upon the table and mounted upon a postmovable within guides, the angular slot in the guides, and pin in thepost engagingin the slot.

5. In a sheet-metal folder, the combination of the table, thepresser-plate adapted to descend upon the table and mounted upon a postmovable within guides, the roller upon the guides, and the projectionupon the post having a rounded or beveled edge and adapted to engage theroller upon each upward movement, whereby sidewise movement is given tothe presser-plate to withdraw it from the fold, substantially as setforth.

In witness whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

MATTHEW E. HASTINGS. Witnesses:

EDWIN H. RisLEv, M. E. ROBINSON.

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